August 19, 2010

The University of California, Irvine is one of the 11 campuses of the University of California. The University of California is part of the state of California’s public university system. In 1960, the State Board of Education in California developed the California Master Plan for Higher Education, in conjunction with a team of U.C. Regents. Under this Plan, California initiated a three-tier public higher education system, including the California Community College, the California State University, and the University of California. The first University of California was located in Berkeley and established in 1868, and most recently, the University of California opened a new campus located in Northern California, called the University of California, Merced, which opened in 2005. Of the 11 University of California campuses, two are only open to graduate students. University of California San Francisco (UCSF) enrolls graduated students of medical and health sciences; the University of California Hastings, also in San Francisco, enrolls graduate students in legal studies. The California Master Plan for Higher Education is largely seen as a response to the growing demand for college campuses back in the 1950s. Veterans emerging from World War II increasingly sought higher education degrees, partly due to the G.I. Bill that promised to pay entire veterans’ education tuitions. The Master Plan anticipated an influx in college attendees with the postwar baby boom. The University of California system of college campuses ranks among world-class educational institutions.